Tradition
No chart mentions this pair.
Broccoli
Brassica oleracea var. italica
Brassicaceae
Cauliflower
Brassica oleracea var. botrytis
BrassicaceaeCan you plant broccoli and cauliflower together?
Yes. Broccoli and cauliflower grow well together. Broccoli lured pests away from cauliflower in a field trial. That rests on two studies, so treat it as a lead, not a rule.
Why broccoli and cauliflower work together
Lures pests away. In a field trial, broccoli lured pests away from cauliflower.
Relative Susceptibility of Brassicas to Cabbage Maggot (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) Infestation. (Joseph SV. · 2023 · Insects)No clear effect on harvest. In a field trial, growing them together made no clear difference to harvest.
Crop interactions in broccoli intercropping (Santos RHS · 2002 · Biological agriculture & horticulture)Same family, shared pests. Broccoli and cauliflower are both in the Brassicaceae family, so the same pests and diseases can move from one to the other.
Crop Rotation in the Vegetable Garden (Steil · 2025 · Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Yard and Garden)
What to plant with broccoli and cauliflower
Good neighbours of both, best tested first.
What to keep away from broccoli and cauliflower
Nothing in our data is a bad neighbour of broccoli or cauliflower.
The evidence in detail
For readers who want to dig in: every chart entry, study and yield trial behind the answer above, with the numbers.
Tradition, research and yield trials
Same family, shared pests and diseases. Both in Brassicaceae: often susceptible to the same diseases and insects. Source: Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Yard and Garden
Research
Good
avoidgood
2 papers found: 1 positive, 0 negative, 1 no effect.
trap cropyield / land use
auto-classified not reviewed by a person
Yield trial
No intercropping yield trial.
Good neighbours
What happens above and below ground
Each animation illustrates a mechanism a study reported for this pair. Pick a card to focus on it.
Everything at once.
Companion plants for both broccoli and cauliflower
Plants that are good neighbours of each. Biggest harvest gain first; each cell links to the evidence for that pair.
| Plant | With broccoli | With cauliflower |
|---|---|---|
 Cabbage | Lures pests awaySame family (Brassicaceae): shares pests and diseasesField trial, 3 studies. Charts: not listed.Evidence for broccoli and cabbage | No trial foundSame family (Brassicaceae): shares pests and diseasesNot tested. Charts: recommend.Evidence for cauliflower and cabbage |
 Onion | No trial foundNot tested. Charts: recommend.Evidence for broccoli and onions | Bigger combined harvestField trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for cauliflower and onions |
The evidence, with sources
- Goodtrap cropfield trialauto-classifiedBroccoli helps CauliflowerRelative Susceptibility of Brassicas to Cabbage Maggot (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) Infestation.Relative Susceptibility of Brassicas to Cabbage Maggot (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) Infestation. (Joseph SV. · 2023 · Insects)Relevance 94% · effect confidence 35%
- No effectyield / land usefield trialauto-classifiedCrop interactions in broccoli intercroppingCrop interactions in broccoli intercropping (Santos RHS · 2002 · Biological agriculture & horticulture)Relevance 97% · effect confidence 49%
- Both in Brassicaceae: often susceptible to the same diseases and insectsCrop Rotation in the Vegetable Garden (Steil · 2025 · Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Yard and Garden)
All neighbours of broccoli and of cauliflower, or every pair at once in the companion planting chart.
Have you grown broccoli and cauliflower together?
Tell other gardeners what happened: spacing, pests, harvest, or ask a question. Reader notes are not checked by us and do not change the verdicts on this page.